Slade Live in 1981 Rare Live Spotlight on Lemme Love Into Ya from Return to Base Era
A live performance of Slade playing Lemme Love Into Ya in 1981 offers a rare glimpse into the band’s transitional period as they refined their sound and maintained a strong live identity. Captured on video and circulating among fans since its upload, this performance features one of Slade’s more obscure album tracks from the Return to Base and We’ll Bring the House Down sessions and highlights the band’s commitment to presenting deeper material alongside more familiar rockers.
Lemme Love Into Ya is a minor key track from their 1979 album Return to Base. Although Return to Base did not achieve mainstream commercial success at the time, the song earned respect among fans and was voted number two among the top album tracks in a Slade Fan Club Poll of nineteen seventy nine. Its atmospheric textures and melodic contours stood out against the straightforward hard rock that dominated Slade’s earlier output.
By 1981, Slade’s fortunes were shifting. Their performance at the Reading Festival in 1980 had helped revive interest in the band, leading to a new album, We’ll Bring the House Down, which peaked at number twenty five in the UK. While Lemme Love Into Ya did not become a single hit, its presence in the live set pointed to the band’s willingness to blend deeper album work with high energy tracks during this period of renewed momentum.
Live renditions of Lemme Love Into Ya show the band engaging with its unique dynamics. The song’s structure, rooted in minor harmonies and a more reflective mood than Slade’s typical upbeat numbers, allows lead vocalist Noddy Holder and the band to explore different emotional shading in performance. Jim Lea’s bass and keyboard contributions, combined with Don Powell’s solid drum work and Dave Hill’s guitar interplay, create a textured live sound that offers contrast within a set.
The 1981 live footage circulating online is a valuable artifact for fans and historians because it captures the band embracing a broader stylistic palette at a critical moment. Slade’s ability to perform both crowd favorites and deeper cuts like Lemme Love Into Ya underscores their versatility and strong stage presence.
Taken together, the live performance of Lemme Love Into Ya reflects a band confident in its roots but unafraid to showcase songs that might have been overlooked in the studio context. For enthusiasts seeking a fuller picture of Slade’s evolution, this performance remains a compelling and meaningful document of their live craft during the early eighties.